Drawing Lessons: Still Life with Fruit (for middle school children)

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Still lifes, or paintings, the subject of which is "dead nature", are very attractive to children with their entertainment, colorfulness, beauty. They are happy to look at reproductions of famous paintings, admire the realism of the image. Children are especially attracted to berries, vegetables and fruits.

What do we see in the picture

What should be a still life with fruit for children in grades 5-6 so that they can cope with it? First of all, with a clearly defined composition, not cluttered with unnecessary details. An ordinary plate or tray, an inverted cup or mug, and on them - one or two apples, a pear, an orange, a banana. If the guys know how to mix colors, select the shades they need in color, then the fruits will fit unevenly colored, with overflows, transitions. If not, a still life with fruits for children is better to choose a contrasting monochromatic one. i.e.apples are only red, pears are yellow and green. Schoolchildren of 11-12 years old have visual-figurative thinking, it is far from always easy to abstract. They try to depict objects “as in life”, and if they encounter things that are difficult in this regard, they find it difficult to convey them on a landscape sheet. Now about the decorative element. So that attention is not scattered, a still life with fruit for children should be offered in such a design in which the students would focus all their attention on the main object of the image. Therefore, it is desirable that trays or plates, fruit bowls be neutral, light or dark, without additional patterns, ornaments, etc. And one more important secret that the teacher should share with the students. No matter what and how many objects a still life with fruit consists of, the children should hear the idea in the lesson that the principles of harmony must be observed in the picture. That is, objects should complement, favorably set off each other.

Preparation for work

To the lesson preceding the practical lesson, the teacher should bring different reproductions of paintings of the corresponding genre. They should be carefully considered and studied. Naturally, among the benefits, at least one still life with fruit is desirable. For children, this task will be useful: describe the pictures verbally. Go into detail on each subject. Find out for what purpose he is here, how he enriches the picture and why it would be worse without him. You can ask questions of this type: "Why did the artist decide to paint his picture specificallySo? What do the drawings “Still Life with Fruit” tell us? What mood arises when contemplating the pictures?" You also need to discuss the palettes of colors, what tones: bright, dull, cold, warm - were used. All this is important in order for a certain scheme to form in the mind of the child, a certain model that can be which you can start off already in your drawing.

Incarnation on paper

Boris Pasternak, who, by the way, was an excellent painter and well acquainted with many artists, did not call the creative process “miraculous” for nothing. The children's still life with fruit, which the teacher will receive at the end of the lesson from his students, is a direct confirmation of this. Of course it won't be perfect. Pears can turn out to be disproportionate, apples with slanting sides, and oranges can be drawn with a compass. Beginning painters then realize their shortcomings, analyze the inaccuracies. But the main thing is that they will touch real art, feel its magnetism and charm. And they want to create!

Here are some amazing lessons you can do on the subject of "Still Life".